B Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / C Reviews / C+ Reviews#ownvoices / Asian Americans / California / death / Fantasy / grief / Japan / joint review / Literary Fabulism / near-future / Novel-in-Stories / Pandemic / POC / POC author / Speculative-Fiction9 Comments
Content warnings: Jennie: When Janine suggested we review this book together, I hadn’t heard of it. But the blurb told me it was dystopian, and I have a weakness for dystopian novels even though they don’t always end up working for me. Though it’s billed as a novel, How High ... more >
Book Reviews / C+ Reviewsdeath / England / funeral / Indonesia / Japan / Madagascar / Mexico / multicultural / Nepal / non-fiction / Sicily / Thailand / USA3 Comments
Journalist Erica Buist travels to seven death festivals around the world (Nepal, Madagascar, Indonesia, Sicily, Japan, Mexico and New Orleans) in search of better attitudes towards death After the death of her father-in-law, journalist Erica Buist decided to travel to seven death festivals around the world, in an attempt to ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviewsdeath / funeral / non-fiction / organization / Organization or the Lack Thereof2 Comments
A step-by-step program for getting your life in order, so you’re prepared for the unexpected. The odds of getting hit by a bus are 495,000 to 1. But the odds that you’re going to die some day? Exactly. Even the most disorganized among us can take control of our on- ... more >
A- Reviews / B- Reviews / Book Reviews / C Reviews / Reading Listsamnesia / death / Duke / engineer / Fantasy / hidden identity / historical romance / humorous / leadership / Reading lists / secret agent / seige / stage manager / superheroes / terminal illness / theater / Urban-Fantasy8 Comments
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley A couple of you mentioned enjoying this book in our December open thread. It had been languishing on Mount Kilimanjaro my TBR pile for years, and the love in the open thread prompted me to actually read it. Myfanwy (rhymes with Tiffany) Thomas comes to ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews14th century / aristocrats / class differences / death / disease / England / Historical fiction / language / LGBTQIA characters / medieval / plague / working class2 Comments
Three journeys. One road. England, 1348. A gentlewoman flees an odious arranged marriage, a Scots proctor sets out for Avignon, and a young plowman in search of freedom is on his way to volunteer with a company of archers. All come together on the road to Calais. Coming in their ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviewsdeath / etiquette / funeral / non-fiction7 Comments
Everything you ever wanted to know about funeral etiquette but were afraid to ask. When is attending a funeral or memorial service “a must,” and when is it optional? Can a eulogy be funny? Can I scatter my brother’s ashes in the backyard? Should I place a death notice or ... more >